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We’re only two months away from the eighth generation of console gaming, but the new generation of portable gaming has been around for a couple years now. The PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS are both underperforming compared to past handheld metrics. Nintendo recently attempted to spice things up with the 2DS, but Sony remained quiet on the PS Vita front. Now, however, Sony has announced a PS Vita revision, and a completely new PS Vita product.

PS Vita 2000

Much like the PSP’s first revision, the PSP-2000, the PS Vita 2000 won’t reinvent the wheel, but make it thinner, lighter, and cheaper. The new model, the PCH-2000, will keep the current Vita design, but will reduce the thickness by 20%, and the weight by 15%. The biggest change is that the PCH-2000 will replace the current five-inch 960×544 OLED screen with an LCD of the same size. Early reports suggest that this screen change lowers the quality a tiny bit, as colors are a little faded toward the edges.

While the original PS Vita did not have any on-board storage, the new model will feature 1GB — a meager amount considering the size of games and downloadable content, but better than nothing at all. Furthermore, the Vita will replace its proprietary connector with a regular micro USB (the same as your smartphone). The battery is also listed as gaining a one-hour bump in life, as well as some new color options. The new model is launching in Japan on October 10 at $190, so whenever it launches in North America, it should be around the same price as the current $199 model.

PS Vita TV

The bigger news is the PS Vita TV, a dramatic hardware revision of the Vita. It’s a cheaper, set-top box without a screen that works with the DualShock 3 (and appears to work with the PS4’s DualShock 4). Essentially, the PS Vita TV is a Vita for your TV, able to do everything a Vita can — right down to running game carts — with the same specs (minus the screen). The unit is tiny, measuring in at 6.5×10.5×1.3 centimeters, and features WiFi and Bluetooth, an HDMI out, a USB port, and Ethernet. The device supports 720p and 1080i, but not 1080p. It’s expected that the PS Vita TV will run games at a television-sized resolution, rather than the 960×544 size of a Vita’s screen.

Both the new PS Vita and the upcoming PS Vita TV will have PS4 Remote Play. Sony has not yet specifically mentioned what media services will be available on the PS Vita TV, but it would be strange for it to lack the usual suspects — especially considering this is a set-top box, and media services were shown in the above promo.

The PS Vita TV will launch in Japan on November 14 for $95. There will be a bundle for $150 that includes the Vita TV, a DualShock 3, and an 8GB memory card. Considering the PS4 is launching around the same time in North America as the Vita TV is launching in Japan, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sony hold off on a North American launch, as launching two consoles could get a little messy, confusing that grandparent-buying-a-holiday-present customer base.

The PS Vita 2000 is a standard move, and might infuse some new, much-needed life into the Vita if the handheld meshes well with the PS4. While the PS Vita TV might seem a tad confusing — a portable console stripped of its portability — that $95 price point and the emergence of cheap, set-top box consoles certainly proves the Vita TV to be a savvy move on Sony’s part. While the standard dig at the Vita is that it lacks games, it certainly has a higher-quality library than the Android gamingscape. Furthermore, consoles like the Ouya don’t have native media streaming yet, while the Vita TV certainly appears to. So, for a sub-$100 price, you get PS4 Remote Play, media services, and both retail and downloadable Vita games.

The PS Vita TV is definitely aimed at a somewhat niche market, but it’s a smart device and a savvy move by Sony. If you wanted a Netflix box for the den, you can grab a Roku, or grab a Vita TV and have a box that not only plays a dedicated gaming console’s games, but can play PS4 games from across the house as well. It would seem Sony is continuing its barrage of intelligent moves this generation.

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Jamie MacDonald

I’m not the type to play games on the move – I really prefer sitting down on a comfy chair and spending at least an hour on something engrossing. I suppose it’s like novels and magazines. One is quick consumption, the other a more protracted, involved affair. Yet both the same fundamental thing in the end.

The Vita TV’s an interesting grab at this newly-emerging Android Set Top box market. Should be interesting to see its progress.

Cold as ice

Ill prob get the vita tv,
great / cheap gaming for my 5 year old.

Guest

On the DualShock 3? But then how would you play games that require the front and back touchscreen? And the ones that use the camera for AR etc.? (if they exist)

Gikes

Im still waiting for a vita with standard micro sd slot.

Joel Detrow

Read it again, dude.

Phobos

So Sony is going to do what MS is trying, takeover the living room with multiple devices instead with just one console, well bravo… good thing they are optional and separate. I guess games and exclusive titles are the last thing they are going to come up with, before that they are going to shove all their crap at us.

GamerFromJump

Seems like it would have been simpler to write an official Vita emulator for the PS3.

The king

I bought the original vita and to be honest im very disappointed with the range of games available. I paid £200 for mine and now its worth about £25 because no body wants one. Sony Launched it like a hard core console but it turned out to be like a nintendo. Not impressed with mine at all, waste of money to say the least

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